regulus

C16: from Latin: a petty king, from rēx king; formerly used for antimony, because it combines readily with gold, thought of as the king of metals

Regulus1

/ˈrɛɡjʊləs/

noun

1.

Marcus Atilius (ˈmɑːkəs əˈtɪlɪəs). died ?250 bc, Roman general; consul (267; 256). Captured by the Carthaginians in the First Punic War, he was sent to Rome on parole to deliver the enemy's peace terms, advised the Senate to refuse them, and was tortured to death on his return to Carthage

Regulus

n.

bright star in constellation Leo, 1550s, Modern Latin, apparently first so-called by Copernicus, literally "little king," diminutive of rex "king;" probably a translation of Basiliskos "little king," a Hellenistic Greek name for the star, mentioned in Geminos and Ptolemy (in the "Almagest," though elsewhere in his writings it is usually "the star on the heart of Leo"); perhaps a translation of Lugal "king," said to have been the star's Babylonian name. Klein holds it to be a corruption of Arabic rijl (al-asad) "paw of the lion" (cf. Rigel).